Coal mining machine



Dec. 18, 1934. D. HOWELL COAL MINING MACHINE Filed July 27, 1933 3Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 18, 1934. D HOWELL I 1,984,832

COAL MINING MACHINE Filed July 27, 1935 3 Sh6ets-Sheei 2 Dec. 18, 1934.D. HOWELL COAL MINING MACHINE Filed July 27, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 QM Q,

zl vuc nlo't 17 HOW Z I nah Patented Dec. 18, 1934 .,1;9s4.ss2

i 'C'OAL MININGF ,David. Howell Huntsville, Pa., assignor .ofonefou'rthto TSamuel.Francis;Edwardsville, Pa., one fourth toRichard"low'ell, TFortyfort, Pa.,

"and one-f urth"to LeeWlker, Wilkes-Barre,

Application 511131 127, iszaiseri l No. 682,497

'- Claims.

iiThis invention relates :to machinesi-foricuiating I :coal. andparticularlyv to mechanism :for: under- .cutting'the coalfrom a :veinwhereby .the 30021 afterwards-may beblasted down. a EOne of theobjects.ofithegpresent inventionzris to provide. amining-machineofathis; character :which makes a relativelyuthin .cut'through: the

:.coal,.thus avoiding waste of coalwhich is so constructed that itwillfoperatenat a relaitivelyvhigh speed, which is light and,therefore,:readily portable-and which may be operated byieithersairyorelectricity, both forms. of .motive power being found in coal mines.

A 'furtherobject is toxprovide amechanism-Lof this character in whichthe. cutting wheel is pro- .vided with detachable cutting teethis'so '1con- --structed.as to cut .akerf'wideri than the-:ithickness of thecutting wheel, the cuttersz-be-ingz'detachable. from the cutting wheel'sothat they may be: renewed whenever desiredv or necessary. and

. another object in this connection isuto :provide means for drivingthecuttingwheel .including a ..-.peculiarly shaped. gearwwhe'elv havingteethmso shaped asv toengageagainstthe faces of the cutting teethonx thecutting wheel-inward of: their -.:cutting edges.

still. further. object is toprovideaaxconstrucxitionof :.this. characterin which the frame'zsupporting the cutting iwheel may be; turned'withre:.lation tothe tractorauponwhich the framer'of L the cutting wheelismounted so as'to perm'itfl'the cutting wheel tobedriven transverselyacrossthe breast. of. the. coal: to any desired. extent.

.A' further object is to provide. means Fwhereby: a

..'drill may be mountedupon thentractor, this "drill ..being. soarrangedithat. itand the tractor; may be .adisposed .zat. an .angle fordrilling .:blast iholes in the breast of. coal above the: underminedportion and in this connectionprovide "means whereby .the .-.dust fromthe. drillt'may' be -carried"rearwardzandx:

the dust forced out of the teeth of the-drill.

Another object is to ,:provide' as a supporting sand driving'means forthe cutter;a:tractorc.of .the crawler type which may be very. light :and.read- 'ily handledwithin-the limited spacerof a mine...-

Other objects willv appear in..the= .coursejof the followingdescription.

My inventioni is illustrated in;the vaccompanying drawings, whereinFigure l is aside elevation of-the- .machine; I

' Figure 2 is a topplanaview thereof; Figure 3 isa topplan -view1of theunderminin .cuttenthe supporting frame being-partly :broken completeaway. and thecutting wheelz-beingyialso:broken away: to show certaindetails; Figure :4 is. a--secti0n. .on. the :line ;:-.-ure 3;

=wF.-igure.:-5 isa section on .zth'e :li'riei 5+5 1- Ei'g- .w-Figure. 6is. a fragmentary elevationiof thexforward -.portion':ofzthetractorshowing a drill engagedtherewith' fortdrilling blast holes;

Figure 7::is...a longitudinal .sectional view of the drill. I

Referring-tothese-drawings, 10 designates generally;.atractor-:ofthecrawler type.v and having .any'suitablemeans of propulsion. Thetractor has the usual sprocket wheels 11 over'which pass the parallelsprocket or. crawler chains 12. I have not shown :the particular-meansforxoperating these wheels, l1 .and controlling: the movement of thetractor as, this forms nopart, of my invention.

While .as .before stated, "the particular "means *for; driving thetractor: may be:of various char-- acters, I- have illustrated for; thispurpose. axdriving shaft 13 driven fromany suitable motor carriedwit'hinthe tracton-as for instance; an-electric .xmotor; thisv shaft 13carrying upon it a worm 14 I which engagesv a WOIIII wheel 15 carriedby; a shaft I :16 carrying thereon. the pinion-17 which engages .withaninternal gear 18.0n each forward'sprocket wheeliExtending forward fromtheforward end of the ;tractorsbodyiis.agpush bar 19 :which supports a"bracket :20. :This bracket. carries the .bearing for .theshafti13xand-rmounted :upon' the end-of this shaft-.13: is ear-beveled:gearw wheel 21 which is en- :"gaged withitheshaft 13 by av set.v screworany ::othersuitable-meanswherebythe gear wheel may .::beshiftedrearward upon the shaft or be disposed in :operative :engagementwith the driving gear wheelsfor: the cutter.

'Asill-ustratedsthe pushbar 19 is formed of two plates Whichforwardof.the bracket'20 are spaced 7 :from .eachother as at 22 and 23 in Figures4 and 5. .JBQtha of thesetiplates. are formed with an opening :24and-:tdisposed within'this opening is a bearing -.-ring:25. Disposedwithin this opening is a, ver- .tical tubularshaft: 26;.and :keyed .onthe upper end .aof; :this; tubular. shaft.:26 is the shank 27-.or stubishaftiofsbeveled gear .wheel .28' which engages the ..gearz2l...'Thetubularshaftsection 26 carries upon .it a; bearingxring 29anddisposed between this ring -andthering 25 are the ballbearings 30. .Acover plate 3-lzextends over the opening inthe'plate 22 .and'closelysurrounds the stub shaft 29. .The lower end of athetubularishaft;261 issupported in: hell bearings=t31 andxa plate .32, this plate on each sidedieing providedwith the angularbrackets 33 car- I rying casterwheels.34pmounted=toturn freely on vertical axes onthebrackets 33.

Disposedxbetween theseparated plates .22..and .23. of theqframeisa plate35 which has a straight '.edge:36 along; oneside. and a curved edge 37.ex- ...tendingifromoneend of the straight edge to the diagonallyopposite. corner of the .plate. This plate :35 is,.therefore,rotatablewith relation tothe plates 22 .ands23 and-around the. bearing 25. .This

plate 35 is connected to the plate;.32 by:means;of"

the vertical posts 38 disposed at the ends of the straight portion 36 inthe plate. Bolts 39 pass through these posts. Attached to the rear ofthe plate 32 is an angular bracket 40 as shown in Figure 4 which carriesthe caster wheel 41 which is free to rotate around a vertical axis afterthe manner of casters.

The plate 35 as shown in Figure 4 is extended forward and then extendsdownward as at 42 and then extends horizontally at 43, this portion 43being disk-like and joined to portion 42 by a relatively narrow neck.Mounted beneath this disk-, like portion 43 is an annulus held inengagement with the disk-like portion 43 by means of the screws 45 orother suitable means to this end. Disposed within the center of the ring44 is a socket member 46 having therein a socket 47 which carries withinit the supporting ball 48, this ball being free to rotate in anydirection within the socket 47 and acting as a support for the hubconstructed of the members 44 and 46, this socket member 46 beingprovided with a flange 49 extending beneath the annulus 44 and beingheld thereto by screws 50. The annulus 44 is formed upon its outer facewith a ball race-way 51.

Surrounding the annulus 44 is the cutting wheel. This consists of amedially disposed core 52 which may be made of compressed fibre or anyother suitable light but relatively strong material faced on each sideby the metal plates 53 and 54. Also disposed between the plates 53 and54 and forming a facing for the interior edge face of the core 52 is ametal ring 55 constituting a ball bearing for the balls 56 which aredisposed within the race-way 51. The plates 53 and 54 project out beyondthe core 52 and these plates are formed with inclined slots 57 as shownin Figure 3, these slots being tangential to a circle whose center isthe center of rotation of the cutter. The cutting teeth 58 are formed asshown in Figure 4 with a shank 59, the core 52 being bored at intervalsradially to receive the shanks, the shanks being held in place by thescrews 60. Intermediate the screw pins 60 are screw pins 61 which alsopass through the plates 53 and 54 and hold these plates against thecore. The pins 60 perform a like function and also pass through recessesin the shanks 59 and detachably hold these shanks in place. Each cutter58 is wider at its outer cutting edge 62 than at its inner edge, theinner edge having a length approximately equal to the distance betweenthe outer faces of the plates 49 and 43. The inner margin of each cutteris disposed within the slots 57 in the plates 53 and 54 and thus it willbe seen that each cutter is rigidly held in place and at a tangent to acircle concentric to the axial center of the cutting wheel. Each cutterhas a beveled edge face 62 as before referred to, the edge being beveledaway from the direction of rotation of the cutter, this direction beingindicate-d in Figure 3 by the arrow.

For the purpose of rotating this cutting wheel, I mount upon the tubularshaft 26 the gear wheel 63 which is shown as being pinned to the shaft26, though I do not wish to be limited to this. This wheel 63, as shownin Figure 3, is formed with a plurality of tangentially extending teeth64, these teeth having a curved face and the valleys 65 between theteeth being relatively deep and tangentially extending. These teeth asshown in Figure 3 engage against the rear faces of the cutting teeth 58but the valleys 65 are of such depth that these cutting teeth 58 are notcontacted by the edge face of the driving wheel 63 at any time.

It will be seen that with t hisconstruction as the tractor is drivenforwardly toward the breast of the coal, and assuming that the 'cutteris placed in the position shown in Figure 2, the cutter will move overthe floor of the mine and cut into the vein very close to the floor andthe cutter may be inserted into the vein to a depth equal to nearly thediameter of the cutter. This cutting wheel has a diameter ofapproximately three feet, though, of course, I do not wish to be limitedto these dimensions and the cutting wheel will be rotated at a speed offifteen hundred R. P. M. As the tractor is advanced, therefore, thecutting wheel will cut into the coal in the manner shown in Figure l andthen, as will be later stated, the frame of the cutting wheel may berotated around its pivotal center, which is the shaft 26, or rather thepush bar 19 with its supporting frame, may be rotated relative to thecutter and into angular relation thereto so as to permit the tractor tobe disposed parallel to the breast of the coal and the machine may bethen operated to undermine the coal to a depth of three feet or morealong its entire breast.

If desired and for the purpose of drilling blast holes in the breast ofthe coal, I design to mount upon the tractor a blast hole drill having ashank 66, the extremity of this shank carries upon it the drill head 67which is preferably tapering and provided with the teeth 68. These teethwill preferably be curved from the tip to the base of this bit. I haveshown the bit 67 as being mounted within the shank 66 by means of a setscrew 69, though I do not wish to be limited to this.

The shank 66 is preferably provided with a worm 70 and the interior ofthe shank is formed with a longitudinally extending channel or bore 71and the bit 6'7 with a like channel 72. The rear end of the bore 71opens into cross bores 73 so that air may be forced into the bore 71from a swiveled connection 74 in turn adapted to be connected to an airpipe or to a fan in case the mine is not equipped with air pipes. Theair passing through the bores 71 and 72 flows rearward through the boremade by the bit and keeps the bit teeth clean and the conveyor roll 70carries this fine dust out of the bore and thus prevents any choking ofthe drill. These blast bores are usually driven in an upwardly slantingdirection from the breast of the coal and to this end the forward end ofthe tractor may be disposed on upwardly inclined boards or other tracksso that when the tractor is forced forward, it will move forward andupward and thus drive the drill in an upward and forward direction intothe breast of the coal.

I have illustrated the drill shank 66 as being driven by means of apinion 75 carried by the drill shank in turn driven by an intermediategear 76 upon the pinion 77 of the drive shaft 13 but I do not wish to belimited to this.

I have illustrated a cable 78 as conveying power to the motor of thetractor and controller handles 79 and 80 for controlling the motor.

One of the principal advantages of my construotion resides in the factthat the cut made is very thin, approximately a cut of about two inchesin height so that there is extremely little waste and, as a matter offact, this mechanism in actual test has shown that there will be withthis machine less than 25% of loss whereas with soft coal and withmachines now in use or where miners are mining the soft coal by hand,there is a loss at the breast of from 40 to 50% and with hard coal thereis even a higher percentage" of loss. With this construction, even verythin veins of coal may be mined at a profit because the coal may beunder cut and then by blasting in the coal immediately above the vein ofcoal, the coal may be brought down in masses. If the rock below the coalbe soft, my machine may be used to cut this rock beneath the vein ofcoal and thus no waste will occur. A two H. P. motor has been found tobe amply sufficient to drive this cutter at a speed such that it willcut at the rate of forty feet per minute. The total weight of the cutterwith the tractor motor and allied parts will be about three hundred andtwenty-five pounds and the total length from the rear end of the tractorto the forwardmost portion of the cutter is approximately six andone-half feet. Therefore, it will be seen that with a light weighttractor of this character, the tractor may be easily shifted Within themine to bring it in proper operative position to cause the tractor to bedriven parallel with the breast of the coal while the cutter isundercutting along the length of the breast. The tractor is of suchlight weight that it may readily be lifted by jacks and shifted so thatthe axis of the shaft 13 is at right angles to the supporting bar 42.

By causing the gear wheel 63 to engage the teeth 58, an importantadvantage is secured, because if a tooth 58 breaks, it may be readilyreplaced whereas if a toothed wheel were used on the cutter, the teethof this wheel being engaged by the teeth 64 then if a tooth of thecutter wheel were broken the whole cutter wheel would have to bereplaced. Thus, the teeth 58 perform a double function acting as gearteeth and also as cutting teeth. As a matter of fact, the breakage ofthe tooth 58 will not interfere with the proper driving of the cutterand the cutter will continue to operate unless two adjacent teeth arebroken, in which case it is a relatively easy matter to substitute a newtooth for the old tooth.

It will be seen from Figure 3 that the bar 44 can make a one-fourth turnaround the pivotal axis of the shaft 26 but that it is limited to thisquarter turn by the transversely extending shoulder 19a shown in Figure3. Thus the supporting bar 42 may extend straight outward from the pushbar 19, as shown in Figure 2, or be disposed in right angular relationthereto in one direction. It is also noted that the depth of cut of thecutting wheel is nearly the full diameter of the wheel. It will beobvious that the diameter of the wheel might be varied soas to secure astill deeper cut.

Many changes might be made in the details of construction andarrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the inventionas defined in the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what is claimed 1s:

1. In a coal mining machine, a cutter comprising an annular core, platesdisposed on opposite side faces of the core and having inwardlyextending slits, cutters insertible into said slits and having shanksinsertible into the core, and means for holding said shanks detachablyengaged with the core.

2. In a coal mining machine, a wheeled supporting frame, a central hubon the frame, means for supporting the hub on the floor of the mine anda cutting wheel surrounding said hub and including an annular core,plates disposed on opposite sides of the core and detachably engagedtherewith, the plates projecting beyond the core and having inwardlyextending slots and cutters disposed in said slots and extendingvertically beyond theplates on each side thereof, each cutter having ashank extending into the core, means extending through the plates andthrough the core and detachably engaging said shank, and antifrictionbearings disposed between the hub and said core.

3. In a coal mining machine, a wheeled supporting frame, a depending hubcarried on the frame, means for supporting the hub on the floor of amine, a bearing ring surrounding the hub and fixed to the frame and tothe hub, a cutting wheel including an annular core surrounding saidbearing ring, ball bearings disposed between the annular core and thebearing ring, plates disposed on opposite sides of the core anddetachably engaged therewith, the plates projecting beyond the core,cutters mounted on the periphery of the core and extending beyond theplates, the core terminating short of the plates, a vertical shaftcarried by the frame, and a wheel carried by the vertical shaft andoperatively engaging the cutting wheel between the teeth thereof andbetween said plates.

4. In a coal mining machine, a rotatably mounted horizontally disposedcutting wheel, a supporting frame therefor, the periphery of the wheelhaving removable substantially radial cutters, plates disposed on eachside of the cutting -Wheel and forming part thereof and extending oneach side of the shanks of the cutters, and means for driving thecutting wheel including a power rotated horizontally disposed wheelcarried by the frame having peripheral teeth, the teeth being curvedoutward and toward the direction of rotation of the power wheel and ofthe cutter wheel and engaging on the rear faces of the teeth and betweenthe plates of the cutter wheel.

5. A coal mining machine including a tractor having a motor, a motordriven shaft and tractor wheels driven by the motor, push bars extendingoutward from the tractor, a driving shaft extending outward above thepush bars, the push bars having an upper bifurcated element and a lowerbifurcated element, caster wheels supporting the lower element, avertical shaft mounted for rotation in the upper and lower elements ofthe push bars, means for driving said shaft from the driving shaft ofthe tractor, a cutter supporting member mounted within the bifurcatedupper push bar element for free rotation around the axis of the verticalshaft, the cutter supporting member being downwardly deflected adjacentone end, means for limiting the rotation of said cutter supportingmember, a cutting wheel mounted upon the cutter supporting member andhaving radially projecting cutters, means at the center of said cuttingwheel and supporting the cutting wheel upon the floor, and a toothedwheel carried by the vertical shaft and having teeth engaging againstthe rear faces of the cutters to thereby rotate the cutting wheel.

DAVID HOWELL.

